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Dec. 31, 1935. E. A. sAN'roN SHUTTLE CHECK AND RELEASE FOR DROP BOX LOOMS Filed July 19, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 7' -v ASA/550255 MNM-Numa K Dec. 31, 1935; E. A.`sANToN 2,025,906

SHUTTLE CHECK AND RELEASE FOR DROP ,BOX LOOMS Filed July 19. 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 .limp/w): A SAW Ta/v Patented Dec. 31, 1935 SHUTTLE CHECK AND RELEASE FOR DROP BOX LOOMS Application July 19, 1934, Serial No. 736,054

16 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in shuttle checking and releasing devices for looms and it is the general object of the invention to provide means for effectively checking the shuttle as it enters the box and thereafter relieving pressure on it so that it may be picked with a minimum of power.

In certain classes'of heavy slow running looms as heretofore constructed the. shuttles could be checked by a forni of binder which exerted comparatively little pressure on the side walls of the shuttle. When looms of this type are operated at increased speeds, however, the former means for stopping a shuttle are found to be inadequate inasmuch as they permit rebounding and subject the picker to an increased blow when absorbing the momentum of the shuttle. It is an important object of my present invention to provide an improved form of quickly adjustable check which will effectively stop the shuttle when the loom is operating at a high rate ofspeed and thus pre-` vent undue Wear of the pickers.

It is a further object of my invention to provide each cell of a gang of shifting shuttle boxes with its own form of adjustable tension for the binder so that the boxes may be free to shift without hindrance from an outside source. In this connection I arrange a pressure relieving device to overpower the tension device of the cell which is opposite the race at the time of picking. This latter result I accomplish by a mechanism operated from the crank connector.

It is a further object of my invention to provide an improved type of binder having a gradually inclined surface along which the advancing nose of the shuttle slides when the shuttle is being boxed and having at the outer end thereof a comparatively short holding surface which is pressed against the shuttle when the latter is inactive to keep the same from working inwardly toward the cloth. The short surface referred to is close to the shuttle tension relieving device and is moved away from the shuttle just prior to the time of picking so that a minimum of pressure transmitted through the picker will suihce to propel the shuttle across the loom.

My invention further relates to a form of binder construction which permits floating support of the binder together with means to move the binder away from the shuttle.

With these and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds my invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter CleCrlQeQ and 'niet fQlth the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein a convenient embodiment of my invention is set forth,

Fig. l is a front elevation of the. shifting shuttle box end of a loom having my invention applied thereto,

Fig. 2 is a top plan View of the structure shown in Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is an end elevation of Fig'. 1, with certain parts in section and other parts removed for the sake of clearness, f

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the binder,

Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic plan view of the binder showing the relation of the same to the shuttle, and

Fig. 6 is a detail perspective View of the upper end of a control arm for the binders.

Referring particularly to' Figs.- 1 and 2, I have shown a loom frame l0 having a lay Il driven back and forth by means of a connector I2. As shown more particularly in Fig. 3 the connector has a head I3 pivotally connected as at I4 to the lay and has upper and lower spaced rods l5 and I5, respectively, around which lie compression springs IT. The crank shaft I8 has a crank arm i9 to which is yieldingly attached the rear end of the connector. The crank shaft is given a rotation for each pick or beat of the loom and as the crank arm swings around the axis of the shaft the rods I5 and i6 will rise and fall relatively to the lay and the shaft. The connector may be made as set forth more fully in Hillman Patent No. 1,323,391.

As set forth herein the loom is adapted for Weaving four different colors by means of as many shuttles which are held in the box structure B having cells 20,` 2|, 22 and 23, respectively. The box structure is provided with ears 24 through which project a Vertical binder pin 25 located in front of the binders 26.

A protector finger `3E) is adjustably attached to a protector rod 3l which has secured thereto a dagger 32 and is surrounded by a protector'spring 33 the normal effect of which is to press the nger 39 backwardly,r or toward the binder which is opposite the shuttle race 35 of the layQ..l

A box rod 31, operated by any approved form of box motion, is the means by which the gang of boxes B is raised or lowered so that any one of the'four cells can be placedin active position relatively to the shuttle race 35 at the time of picking. f

The matter thus far described is of common construction and of itself forms no part of my present invention. Y

iIn carrying my invention into effect I provide a rocking shaft 40 which is movable in outer and inner bearings 4| and 42, respectively, secured to the lay. The inner end of the rocking shaft has an arm 43 secured thereto and this arm extends rearwardly and has a laterally offset nger 44 extending between rods |5 and I6 and is adapted more particularly for engagement with the lower'rod I B. If desired a spring 45 may be used as shown in Fig. `3 to hold the arm 43 down, although I have found in practice that the spring is not essential and may be omitted.

Near the outer end of shaft v40 I adjustably secure a second arm 50 extending upwardly and having a head 5| which as shown in Fig. 2 is provided with outer forwardly facing upper and lower inclines 52 and 53, respectively, and has'upper and lower rearwardly facing inclines 54 and 55 which are inclined oppositely to the other inclines, as shown in Fig. 6.

Each binder 26 may include in its construction va front .sheet metal .strip `58 to which is secured .ablo'ck of'wood 59 havinga rear leather or friction surface 60. (As shown particularly in Fig. 5 the 'rear surface may have a gradual incline 6| which extends outwardly and rearwardly Vfrom the inner end thereof and Amerges with a substantially straight but short surface 62 near the outer-:end .of the binder. If desired I may inacline the iextreme left end of the leather surface as shown in Fig. 5 outwardly and forwardly as at 63. I

The strip '-58 has a U-shaped bend z.65 ywhich defines a vertical slot 66 and said strip is then bent outwardly and back on itself as at 61 vand L.then forwardly as at 68, terminating in a lateral bend 69 which extends inwardly toward the cenzter o'f vthe iloomat a distance spaced forwardly `from the body of the strip. The parallel leaves :at the bend -61 can be welded together if desired. .Averticalpin 1li-corresponding to-pin 25 extends zdownwardly through vthe several -cells `of -the gang tofnboxesandithrough all of the .vertically aligned :slots 66.

Each rbinder has associated .therewith a1binder .spring 12secured to the shuttle-box structure and substantially U-s'haped. The frontpart of :each .-spring has .a free end bent-inwardly toward vthe Acenter -of 'the loom 'to have extending adjustably itherethrough 1a pressure screw 13 -with a head 14 tand.lock;nut 15. .The head 14 engages the adjacent binder-end 61 andexerts apressure which can be varied by changing the setting of -Lthescrew 13 with respect-to the .binderspring L :Prior to'boxing of ashuttle movingtoward the .shifting boxes `the connector -rod .-|6 will be mov- .ing downwardly rand will assume "itslowest V:posi- 4tion :approximately at the'time thezshuttle enters .the cell .opposite the race. Spring 12, acting through screw 13 and binder .end 61, yieldingly .holds .the-binder in rear position, with stop pin 16in .the tforward part :of ythe .slot `(i6. As the shuttle-enters the box its advancing nose `will strike thezsurface 6| and rock the v.binder in a clockwise :direction around pin 10 "as viewed in Fig. 2, thereby pushing the protector finger 39 .against .the Vaction of fspring 33 to permit conztinued vrunningfof -the loom. As ythe .nose continues along the surface `6| .the binder will be wedged outwardly and .the pressure binder end '61 will;be forced -against the screw 13, thereby bending the binder spring which in turn vresists outward .movement ,of the binder.

As the shuttle nears 'the end .of .its-travel :it .will engage the substantially straight .sectionGZ and will :then k'strike the picker ..80 .with .a .very Vmuch reduced blow due to the fact that the major part of its momentum has been absorbed by the binder. The shuttle is therefore boxed against the relatively heavy resistance of the associated binder spring 12.

During the upward swing of the connector rod |6 as the lay approaches picking position, said rod will engage offset 44 and rock arm 43 in a counter-clockwise direction as Viewed in Fig. 3 to move the head 5| forwardly or to the left as viewed in that figure. As seen in Fig. 2 the surfaces 52 and 53 are relatable to the bend 69 of the binder and as the head moves forwardly under action of the rising connector the binder end 61 will be given a slight forward movement to relieve the pressure of the shuttle so that it can be picked, the binder being held back merely by the pressure of the comparatively light protector spring 33.

It is to be understood that the binder springs of the shuttles which are inactive and therefore out of alignment with the shuttle Yrace are not affected by the head 5| and such shuttles .are

therefore held tightly in their boxes so that they will not creep inwardly toward the cloth even though kept idle for a considerable period. As the lay moves rearwardly after picking the connector will move downwardly and the binder .spring of the active rbox will return its binder to normal position before the shuttle again returns to the box. The shuttle is therefore subjected to the full effect of the-spring 12 of lthe .box which it is entering.

If after the boxing of ra shuttle in one of the cells the ypattern calls for a shift of the boxes, this shift will occur and be practically completed before the head 5| engages the binder of kthe shuttle next to be active. Should the box shift be slow, however, and the head has started to move Vforwardly vbefore the called .box is in active position, one or the other of the inclined surfaces-52 or 53 will ease the action of thehead with respect tothe end 69 of the box becoming active.

The wooden block 59 of the binder preventsthe .operator'from bending the steel part and requires 4 the setting for adjustments to be obtained by .changing the binderspring.

By the use of a binder release Iam able vto pick the shuttle across aloom of given width, running at a given .rate of speed, quicker than'by former practice. For .this reason it is possible to equip d the loom with a slower Knowles head than `is standard for the same conditions of width and speed, permitting the use of softer warp and with `fewer stops because of warp breakage.

:From the foregoing it will be seen that I have Vprovided a simple means for relieving the pres- .sure of .the binder of `a shuttle box in picking position, the means for accomplishingthis result being Ycontrolled from the loom connector. 'It will Vfurther beseen that each cell ofthe gang .of lboxescarries its own form of shuttle check and that these checks are all independently adjustable with'respect to each other, and eachis subject to the overpoweringeffect of the head .5| just prior not deected until the binder has been moved .75

outwardly against the pin 25. After the shuttle has moved a substantial distance along the inclined surface 6| with the metallic strip 58 against the pin 25, the light spring 33 of the protector has no further eifect on the shuttle checking and this fact simplifies the adjusting of the pressure to be exerted by spring 12.

Having thus described my invention it will be seen that changes and modifications may be made therein by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and I do not wish to be limited to the details herein disclosed, but what I claim is:

l. In a loom having a lay, a gang of shuttle boxes, a substantially U-shaped spring for each shuttle box of the gang, one end of each spring secured to the gang and the other end extending toward the inner end of the binder, a binder for each shuttle box having a projection extending into the corresponding U-shaped spring, and adjustable connections between said other end of each of said springs and the corresponding extension to exert a variable force derived from the spring against the extension to vary the shuttle checking force exerted by the binder.

2. In a loom having a lay, a gang of shuttle boxes, a binder for each shuttle box, a protector finger to exert a comparatively light pressure on the inner end of the binder and the shuttle in active position, means to provide for moving the outer end of the binder bodily and transversely of the shuttle box and means for each shuttle box to exert on the outer end of the binder a yielding force greater than the force exerted by the protector finger, whereby boxing of the shuttle will move the protector finger before moving the outer end of the binder.

3. In a loom having a lay, a gang of shuttle boxes, a binder for each shuttle box, a protector finger to exert a comparatively light pressure on the inner end of the binder and the shuttle in active position, means to provide for moving the outer end of the binder bodily and transversely of the shuttle box, means for each shuttle box to exert on the outer end of the binder a yielding force greater than the force exerted by the protector nger, whereby boxing of the shuttle will move the protector finger before moving the outer end of the binder, and means operative prior to picking to lessen the force exerted on the outer end of the binder corresponding to the shuttle in active position.

4. In a loom having a lay, a shuttle box thereon, a binder for the shuttle box, a protector finger exerting a relatively light pressure on the inner end of the binder moving the latter toward shuttle checking position, means defining a sliding guide transversely of the box for the outer end of the binder, and resilient means tending to move the outer end of' the binder along the guide with a yielding force greater than that exerted by the protector finger.

5. In a loom having a lay, a shuttle box on the lay, a binder for the shuttle box, means on the outer end of the binder defining a transverse slot, guide means passing through the slot, a binder spring carried by the box and exerting a force on a portion of the binder adjacent the slot and resisting movement of the binder in an outward direction transverse of the shuttle box.

6. In a loom having a lay, a shuttle box thereon, a binder for the shuttle box, a guide pin, a

bracket on the outer end of the binder defining a slot through which the pin passes and defining also an extension, a U-shaped spring secured to the box and disposed to receive the extension, and an adjustable pressure screw carried by the spring and bearing against the extension and tending to cause movement of the bracket relatively to the pin, the latter resisting movement of the 5 binder lengthwise of the shuttle box and guiding said binder when the latter moves transversely ofl the box.

7. In a drop box loom, a set of shifting shuttle boxes, a binder for each box having a bracket with a lateral bend, and a binder controlling arm having arearwardly convex surface to engage the binders as the boxes shift and having also a forwardly convex surface to engage said bends when the boxes shift. l5

8. In a loom, a set of shifting shuttle boxes, a. binder for each box, vyielding means for each binder to hold the latter in shuttle checking position, withdrawing means related to each binder by which the latter can be moved against the action of the corresponding yielding means, and a binder control arm having a convex surface to face rearwardly for engagement with the binders and having also a forwardly convex surface to j, engage the second named means, said convex surface capable of sliding engagement with the binders and their withdrawing means as the boxes shift.

9. In a loom having a lay with a shuttle box, a binder, means defining a sliding connection between the shuttle box and the binder extending in a direction transversely of the box, yielding means acting on the binder adjacent the means to move the latter rearwardly toward the center of the box, and means operative ata given time in the cycle of loom operation to move the binder outwardly from the box against vthe action of the yielding means.

l0. In a loom having a lay with a shuttle box,

a binder the inner end of which is movable in a "o direction transversely of the box, means defining a sliding connection extending transversely of the box between the outer end of the binder and the shuttle box, yielding means normally tending to move the outer end of the binder toward the "5 center of the box, and periodically acting means operatively related to the outer end of the binder to move the same transversely of the box and away from the center thereof.

11. In a loom having a lay with a shuttle box, a binder the inner end of which is movable trans-` versely of the box, means defining a pin and slot connection extending transversely of the box between the outer end of the binder and the box, yielding means tending normally to move the outer end of the binder bodily toward the center of the box, and periodically acting means operatively related to the outer end of the yielding means to move the latter away from the center 6o .of the box.

12. In a loom having a lay with a shuttle box, a binder, means dening a sliding connection between the shuttle box and the binder extending in a direction transversely of the box, yielding means acting on the binder adjacent the means to move the latter rearwardly toward the center of the box and means operative at a given time in the cycle of loom operation to overpower the yielding means and render the latter ineiective to move the outer end of the binder toward the center of the box.

13. In a loom having a lay with a shuttle box, a binder the inner and outer ends of which are movable bodily transversely of the shuttle box, a u

protector finger exerting a relatvelyl light yieldingpressure on said inner end of the binder tending to move thelatter toward the center ofthe box, and yielding means exerting a relatively high pressure on the outer end of the binder tending to move the same toward the center `of thebox, entry of a shuttle into the box causing the inner end of the binder to move outwardly to move the `protector finger before moving the outer-end of the'binder away from the center of the box.

14. In shuttle checking means for a loom having a lay carrying ashuttle box, a binder for the shuttle box, means adjacent the outer end of the shuttle box dening a sliding pivotal connection between the shuttle box and the bobbin and extending transversely of the box, an extension on the binder projecting outwardly beyond the sliding pivotal connection, andyielding means carried by the shuttle box and effective to exert a force on the extension tending to move the outer vend of thezbinder transversely of the shuttle box.

15. In a loom having a lay provided with a Amovable transversely of the shuttle box, means defningatransverse slot in the outer end of the binder, pivot means secured to the shuttle box Yextending into the slot, and yielding means to resist vmovement of the outer end of the binder relatively to the pivot in a direction transversely of the box and away from the center of the latter, the yielding means holding the binder so that the pivot is normally intermediate the ends of the slot, entry of .a shuttle into the box moving the binder so that the rear end of the slot moves'forwardly into pivoting relation with the pivot means.

16. In a loom having a lay with a shuttle box, a binder the inner end of which is movable transversely of the shuttle box, means on the outer end of the binder defining a slot extending transversely of the shuttle box, pivot means on the box vextending into the slot, an extension on the outer end of the binder projecting beyond the slot, and yielding means exerting a force on the extension tending to position the slot so that the pivot means is normally spaced from the rear end of the slot, said yielding means resisting movement of the outer end of the bobbin in a direction to move the rear end of the slot toward the pivot ELLIOT A. SANTON. 

